AIFF Media Team

NEW DELHI: India will be among 60 countries competing in the FIFAe Nations Series 2021, which is FIFA’s flagship tournament for Member Associations, contested by eNational Teams using the EA Sports FIFA 21 game. An Indian team, consisting of two eAthletes, will take part in the FIFAe Nations Online Qualifiers from Friday (April 30, 2021) onwards, with a spot in the FIFAe Nations Cup 2021 on the line, which features 24 of the world’s best national teams.

The Indian team for the FIFAe Nations Online Qualifiers will be represented by eTigers Charanjot Singh, who is 18 years old and hails from Chandigarh, and 20-year-old Siddh Chandarana from Mumbai, who will contest on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox platforms respectively. Along with the two, Vignesh B from Chennai (PlayStation) and Lokmanyu Chaturvedi from Delhi (Xbox) will be part of the Indian eNational Squad for the FIFAe Nations Series 2021.

Placed in the Middle East and Africa Zone in the qualifiers, India will compete alongside South Africa, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, with the top two nations from the six making it through to the final stage i.e. the FIFAe Nations Cup 2021.

In the group stage, all six teams will face each other once (single round-robin) in a single match-up, which consists of two games each -- one on PS4 and the other on Xbox. Victory in each game will earn the team three points, while a draw will see both teams receive one point each, which means that a team can earn a maximum of six points from a single match-up.

The top four teams at the end of the group phase will move to the knockout round, where they will face off in a double-elimination format. The winning teams from the two semifinals will enter the 'Winner Final' Round, and the winner of that match will proceed to the final. 

The losing teams from the semifinals have another chance to qualify for the final, as they will face each other in the 'Loser Playoffs' and the winning team in that encounter will play in the 'Loser Final' and face the loser of the 'Winner Final' match. The winning side in that match will then move on to the final, with both teams reaching that stage securing their berth in the FIFAe Nations Cup 2021.

In the knockouts, each match-up will be played in a 'Best of 3' format, with each game requiring a clear winner. The group stage and semifinal matches will take place on April 30 and May 1, with the final slated to take place on May 2.

Indian senior national team goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu sent his best wishes to the participating Indian team. He said, "Representing your nation at the world stage is always a big honour and I would like to wish our eTigers all the best for the upcoming FIFAe Nations Series 2021. Give your best efforts and make us all proud!"

A prize pool of $10,000 will be at stake in the six-team Middle East and Africa Zone of the FIFAe Nations Online Qualifiers, with the Top 4 teams in line to win prizes. Additionally, the teams will be contesting for FIFAe Nations Ranking Points over the course of the FIFAe Nations Series 2021, which includes the Online Qualifiers, FIFAe Nations Cup and eFriendlies.

India's matches in the FIFAe Nations Online Qualifiers will be live-streamed online on the official Facebook page and YouTube channel of the AIFF.

The schedule and fixtures for the Indian team in the Qualifiers group stage are as follows:

April 30

Qatar vs India - 5.30 PM IST
India vs Kuwait - 6.30 PM IST
UAE vs India - 7.30 PM IST

May 1

South Africa vs India - 3.30 PM IST
India vs Saudi Arabia - 4.30 PM IST